b. Characters that are not human or humanoid are ineligible. Some ineligible examples include protoplasmic blobs, synthoids in non-human form, man-eating flytraps and other plants, Timber, Junkyard, Polly and other animals.

d. Characters that have appeared in G.I. Joe media but originated in Transformers, MASK, Street Fighter, Indiana Jones and other brands—regardless of any affiliation they may have with G.I. Joe characters within their respective universes—are ineligible with a few notable exceptions:

Sgt. Slaughter left the WWF to become a G.I. Joe and has become virtually synonymous with the brand. Roddy Piper followed a similar path in becoming an Iron Grenadier and is thus eligible. Characters—such as Stealth B.A.T. and Construction B.A.T.—that did not originate outside of G.I. Joe but were created within a G.I. Joe crossover series are also eligible. As a result of majority decision, Bullet Man and Action Man are eligible too.

e. Characters based on unproduced prototypes, unlicensed customs, unpublished sketches or narratives, and published retractions are ineligible. Some examples are Kaos Crew, Chef, Timbit and other pre-2009 Canadian Convention figures, Dave Dorman’s Dreadnok, Scar Head, and Rocky Balboa.

f. Characters from parallel or alternate universes that resemble original characters are ineligible, such as the Baroness from “World’s Without End” and Xamot from “Shattered Glass.”

g. Characters with the same given names as original characters will be assumed to be one and the same and are ineligible unless there is substantial evidence to indicate that the given names are coincidental. Some examples are Air Raid (F. Talltree), Rampage (S. Guderian), Benchpress (C. McConnel), and Speed Metal (S. Guderian).

h. Characters that share the same code name as original characters will also be assumed to be one and the same and are ineligible unless there is substantial evidence to indicate that the code names are coincidental. Some examples are Breaker (A. Shaz), Heavy Duty (H. Dalton), Rollbar (R. Williston), and Ice Storm (N. Ligotke).

4) DROPOUTS: Characters will enter the Drop Zone on their 10th poll and every 10th poll thereafter. The Drop Zone is a warning that indicates the last poll in which characters must average at least 5% of all votes over the past ten polls to remain in the poll. Anyone that averages less than 5% will drop back into the nomination list within a given percentage of the highest nominee’s nominations. See table below.
If < 5% but > 4%, then 90%.
If < 4% but > 3%, then 80%.
If < 3% but > 2%, then 70%.
If < 2% but > 1%, then 60%.
If < 1% but > 0%, then 50%.

5) THREAD ETIQUETTE: To prevent thread derailment, please refrain from lengthy debates or inflammatory remarks. Posting a question or brief remark about eligibility is acceptable and even encouraged, but repeated arguments and complaints are unproductive and should be taken to an alternative thread, such as "The Greatest G.I. Joe Character of all Time" Survey.